


Meet Me At My Vault

by junetree74



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 14:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15865053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junetree74/pseuds/junetree74
Summary: Swan Queen End Game. Based on S6x05. This episode could have turned into the endgame we all deserved. Emma reveals the vision of her death to the family, thinking it’s the Evil Queen who kills her. This upsets Regina, and she excuses herself from the group. But before she leaves, she asks Emma to meet her in private at her vault.





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

**Part 1**

Meet me at my vault she said. Though she seemed upset by what Emma said, she still wanted to see her, so that is a good sign, right? Then why was she nervous? It angered her that Archie would breach their confidentiality and out her secret in front of her family. Is he losing his mind? Can a fake therapist degree be revoked? She will be looking into having a talk with him about what he had done. As predicted, everyone was upset by her secret vision she had been hiding and they all wanted to know who was trying to kill her. She offered up the only idea that she had: the Evil Queen. And as soon as she uttered that name, she could feel Regina’s heart sink. Emma tried to apologize on the spot, but Regina removed herself from the group, saying she was going to help her by finding out the real meaning of her vision. She tried to block Regina from leaving; maybe Regina just invited her to her vault to make her get out of her way. Maybe she didn’t mean it.  
Presently, the Evil Queen had been the only threat in Storybrooke, so for Emma, her interpretation made sense. A few weeks earlier she and Henry had an actual encounter with the Evil Queen and she had threatened her, told her that she wanted to show her how pointless she was. Ever since Dr. Jekyll had appeared, she started to suffer the vision and tremors. She had problems with her magic. She wondered if the Evil Queen knew all this and was just playing psychological games with her.

It was unnerving to be looking at Regina, and not have it be _her_ Regina. She was so mean. It has been decades since that Regina had lived her life or been her. As far as Emma understood and came to know Regina, she was never her. But Regina did tell her she was still inside her. But literally?! Magic would never cease to amaze her. The only part of the Evil Queen that looked like her Regina was the way she looked at and spoke to Henry that day. Even so, it was difficult for Emma to wrap her head around the fact that they were the same person.

All these thoughts ran through her head as she drove to the vault nervously. Even if Regina was not the Evil Queen, Emma still didn’t like to anger Regina. It wasn’t out of fear, but out of extreme discomfort both mentally and physically, in a way that nobody else could make her. She could feel the wedge put between them in a very real way that was unlike anything she ever knew before.

She lingered outside her car and the vault for a bit before going in. She was really starting to feel like an ass for even thinking of her. Correction, not her, the Evil Queen. The vision bothered Emma so much, not only because she sees herself die, but because of all the family members she expected to see there before she died, Regina was not there. How could she not be there for her? Was she dead? Did the Evil Queen kill her? Did they merge back into one, Evil winning? If anyone could or would try to save Emma, it would be Regina, so how could she not be there for her, after all they had been through? Back at the apartment with her family, and Hook, she tried to get them to help her through these questions; but where was Regina was not their concern. They were busy chastising her for not sharing the vision with them, and consequently, starting to fear the Evil Queen once more. This was not how Emma wanted the revelation of her vision to go down. Perhaps Regina asking her to meet her at her vault gave her an outlet Regina knew she would need. This thought that Regina had her best interest in mind, their best interests, inclined Emma to go inside without hesitation. Still, she armed herself with a mouthful of apologies.

Emma lingered at the threshold for a few moments but she didn’t hear a sound. Nevertheless, she held her breath and counted “one, two, three” and she stepped in. Regina was in direct eyesight, facing her, but hovering over a boiling cauldron. It glowed Regina’s signature magical color of purple, illuminating Regina’s face. Emma stood for a moment to watch her stir, throw in ingredients, mutter to herself, and reference her book. Regina’s stare was intense, dark eyes deep in concentration, and clearly oblivious to Emma standing there. That is when the forehead vein comes out most prominently, gracing her golden, flawless skin. Emma has always loved to watch her work her magic. Many of their magical lessons involved Regina falling into moments of deep concentration like this. It allowed for long periods of time where Emma was able to stare at Regina and study her features. The admiration for her teacher certainly grew during their lessons. She was an amazing magical mind and Emma felt lucky to be learning from her.

Emma’s own concentration was lost when Regina looked up and their eyes met. She got caught, though she was doing nothing wrong, but Regina holding her eyes brought forth the nervousness in her and she blurted out, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to upset you…” but Regina held up her hand before she could complete her thought, “Don’t. It’s not necessary. That isn’t why I asked you here.” Regina walked over to Emma and put her hands on her shoulders with her eyes full of care and intensity, asking, “How are you doing?” Her simple question is loaded with pure care and consideration that disarms Emma. “I’m ok,” she says with a weak smile. She isn’t ok. This has been ripping her up inside—the secret, the meaning, the death. But she holds back telling Regina these things because the most vulnerable she has ever been with her friend is apologizing. Regina squeezed her shoulders, “This secret you have been holding in, how have you managed? Being privy to your death is not easy to handle.” Emma gives her a weak smile. She doesn’t know what to say, it's true. Regina adds, “I’m not upset at your interpretation of the vision. It did bother me for a second, I’ll admit, but I understand.”

“I am very sorry that the Evil Queen ever crossed my mind. I feel guilty that she was the first person to pop in without any thought, and in my sessions with Archie I tried to work reason and omit her as a candidate, but he wasn’t much help; he seemed to reinforce that she was the most immediate, present danger. She had already threatened all of us with direct confrontations, even you. So my brain said no, but my gut said yes, why?”

Regina looked at Emma with a regretful look. She doesn’t know how to dissuade Emma. With Dr. Jekyll gone, who else is there? But Regina knows any threats she made to Emma were empty. The Evil Queen wouldn’t hurt her, she knew that about herself when they were one. Regina split herself as an easy way out of ridding herself of her daily, inner-conflict—Regina wanted to become a better person but the Evil Queen was always in her ear, pointing out the cracks in her hopes and desires, filling her with fear and doubt. But she should have known all magic comes with a price, and instead of eliminating her problem, she just gave it a life of its own: pure evil, incarnate. The terrifying part was she had no control over the Evil Queen. She was free to terrorize at will, and she went after her old nemesis, someone Regina now trusted, and called friend and family—Snow. She threatened Emma, but after the apple turnover incident back when she vowed to never harm Emma again. In time, it was a promise she made not only for Henry’s sake, but for her own.

“Gut is usually right, and it may be sensing some kind of danger from her, but I don’t think it’s in relation to your vision. I am hoping this potion I am working on will reveal some leads. It does not sit well with me that I am not there for you.” Regina walks away from Emma back to her cauldron.

“So you think she is a threat?”

“I am sure she still wants to go after your parents.”

“So what if killing me is part of that revenge? You have to admit, that is killing two birds with one stone.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, there is some truth to your reasoning.” Emma catches the shame in Regina’s eyes. “The Evil Queen’s quench for revenge was never fulfilled and she would like to complete her revenge. But she will not use you.”

“I’m my vision all the people I care about are there except for you, which concerns me just as much as my death. Where are you?”

“I do not know why I am not there. If it means I am dead, then that would mean the Evil Queen is dead too, remember how Dr. Jekyll and Hyde couldn’t exist without the other? When one died, so did the other. Well, look at that, mystery solved, she’s not your killer!” Regina shrugs with a wry smile. Emma grimaces. Maybe she should refrain from making jokes.

“That doesn’t make me feel better. Nor the idea that the Evil Queen is still plotting against my parents. So in between that and dying, I still have a lot to worry about.”

“Emma, you’re not alone. I already confronted her and protected your parents. I will do everything in my power to protect the idiots… I’ve really grown fond of them,” Regina looks up at Emma and smiles.

“I trust you. So you’re sure the Evil Queen won’t come at me?”

“Yes.”

“How can you be so confident? She told me she wants to hurt me and show me how pointless I am as the Savior.”

“That’s different than ‘destroy.’”

“Semantics, Regina? There’s a difference?”

“Only you have the ability to lose faith in yourself. She can try to shake and rattle you, but you have so much love and family around you.”

“The threat isn’t idle. If she means my parents harm, what if I can’t save them? That would be a blow.”

“If she does manage to do something, I believe in you, Savior. And I will be by your side.”

“Thank you.”

“You won’t have to ever worry about the Evil Queen harming you or Henry directly, trust me. Her feelings are…” at this Regina stopped.

“Her feeling are what?”

“Complicated.”

“Explain.”

“Changed.”

“Changed how? From destroying me to taunting? She did try to kill me once, remember? So, now she doesn’t want to kill me. So, what is it? She doesn’t like me. How could she even tolerate me? I mean, I'm Henry’s birth mom he went searching for and brought back, how could she just get over that? What if she’s been playing the long game to get me out of her way and finally have Henry to herself....suddenly, I don’t feel confident again…”

Regina pulled some bottles from her shelf, and opens them one by one to pour into her potion as Emma goes on. She finds that she really doesn’t want to say any more than what she has said, but Emma will not stop playing detective. She knows she cannot just say, “just because, believe me.” Knowing Emma, that will drive her to more questions. Regina is hoping Emma will run out of steam. If she keeps prodding, then Regina is afraid she will have to lay out feelings she would rather not express. “Emma! I asked you here because I wanted us to talk privately, and go over this potion I have been working on that will give us answers,” she snapped in one breath, sounding frustrated rather than sympathetic.

“A villain is a villain, Regina, there has to be something pivotal to change her mind, and you’re not helping,” Emma chides, but she repeats herself, “She still harbors a vendetta against my parents, but you think she has changed towards me… how did she do that? Maybe we can get her to change her mind about my parents?”

Regina could see Emma would not let this go. She tried, “Your parents are non-negotiable. Trust me, I’ve tried. When we were one, I held at bay my feelings for your parents. You and I have been through so much with each other, unlike your parents and I, and we share a son. That means a lot to both of us, right? The day you arrived in Storybrooke, I was filled with such dread and hate. You invoked in me something I have not felt in nearly 30 years. Yes, I tried to poison you, but after that, you forgave me and still stood by me. You never encouraged Henry to hate me, even though he did for a while. The both of you encouraged me to become a better person. We learned to co-parent, and I even came to like you,” Regina softly laughs, and Emma begins to look uncomfortable. Emma has not heard many kind words from Regina. The change in Emma makes Regina uncomfortable. She wonders if she revealed too much. They stare at each other in a pregnant pause that leaves Regina wondering if Emma is weighing what she said— “I even came to like you.”

Regina starts to regret saying that. She’s a reserved and private person and though she and Emma are friends, she doesn’t need to know her innermost thoughts, as in how she “likes” her. She said out loud to lighten the mood, but Regina knew “like” was an understatement and it left her feeling exposed. And the longer Emma went without saying something made her nervous. “Emma, please, can we stop psychoanalyzing the Evil Queen! Some other time, ok?”

Emma picked up on Regina’s discomfort and resistance. What was she hiding? “What is there to psychoanalyze? It’s you essentially we are talking about. Shouldn’t you have the answers?”

“Henry!” Regina calls out.

“No, Henry is the thing she loves most in this world. The Evil Queen doesn’t share. That isn’t a game changer. Come on, Regina, I’m missing a piece here.” Emma sees that Regina’s eyes are not on her anymore, but behind her. She whirls around thinking the worse, but it is Henry behind her.

Henry passes Emma and walks straight up to Regina. “I’m sorry mom, but I heard most of your conversation, and you know what needs to be told.” Regina lowers her head and stares hard at him. Henry is not taking her intimidation and continues, “Mom, I kept this between us for long enough now, but Ma is not going to let this go, and she needs assurance more than ever.”

Regina keeps her eyes focused on her son, not in anger, but with pride in his willingness to tell the truth and be bold. The circumstances have changed and Emma deserves 100% assurance more than ever.

Emma places a hand on Henry’s shoulder, “Um, I’m still here. Can you let me in on your conversation and what it all means? I’m not following.”

Just before Henry turns around, he takes his mom’s hands in his, assuring her that it will be alright. They both know it’s the right thing to do. Henry speaks up, “Ma, they love you, this is how we know the Evil Queen is not seeking to kill you.” Henry turns to Emma and waits for her to respond. But it is as those words have no meaning to her. She stares at him blankly, waiting for more, or maybe she needs an interpreter, but something deep within her refused to turn to Regina for an answer, though she knows she is looking at her. She keeps her eyes focused on Henry. Henry gives Emma a sweet smile and cocks his head to one side. Henry says nothing, waiting for his ma to put two and two together, but after a moment, he sees nothing stirring in her solid, fixed eyes on him that are waiting for him to explain himself. He looks over to Regina, who though a moment ago had adoration in her eyes for him, now appears to grow uncomfortable at the silence.

Henry’s eyes widen and he gives Regina a “tell her” look. Regina takes a deep breath before looking at Emma, who still looks bewildered, but reluctantly looks at her. Regina closes her eyes and begins, “When the Evil Queen came to speak with Henry alone, he asked her what was she up to and tried to plead with her not to hurt anyone he loved. She made it clear to him that she still wanted her revenge on his grandparents, but she assured him that his mothers’ lives were safe. Henry, not following, asked about you, because he heard her threaten you, but she reiterated ‘I already told you, I love your ma. I would never harm her.’ Henry reminded her that to harm mom would harm her too, but the Evil Queen just told him, ‘No, Em-MA. Why don’t you ask your mom.’ And left it to me to have to explain to him that I…” Regina took another deep breath, “I am in love with you, Emma, this is why I know you are safe.”

Emma stared, wheels turning, but saying nothing, stoic. Regina continued, “I’m sorry if the news is shocking and I made Henry keep this to himself. What was the point of telling you? You and guy-liner have been working so hard on being together, and I didn’t believe you returned my feelings, so what would come out of you knowing?” Regina felt so raw, exposed. Emma wordlessly stared at her. That wasn’t helping. This is exactly why she didn’t want to ever share this with Emma. “You kept hounding me for an answer, and that’s it, that’s the truth. The Evil Queen and I both share a love for you; a love that has never, will never and could never be the same for your parents. There is your assurance,” Regina says to Emma, trying to sound as matter of fact about the whole admission, but there is a quiver in her voice that betrays her. Regina does not like being this vulnerable. She looks Emma in the eye, a last-ditch attempt at gaining control, and inhales deeply before saying, “I don’t expect anything from you.” Emma does not waver when Regina looks at her. In fact, Regina is not all that sure that Emma heard her. There is a half here, half gone look in her eyes. Regina decides to look away. Though it doesn’t appear she has Emma’s full attention, she cannot hold her gaze for as long as she thought while feeling so exposed. She’d rather not be looking at Emma when she came to.

Henry waited with bated breath through his mom’s admission. He wanted ma to know the truth, and he pressed mom to tell Emma because he was certain she would return the feelings. After Neverland he was excited that his moms were getting along, becoming friends, feeling like a family, maybe even live under the same roof. When he found out there was actually love there, he was excited to put his family together, but Regina firmly told him to leave it alone. She was with Hook, it was probably too late, or maybe Emma didn’t return her feelings. He would have to keep it to himself because a lot of people could get hurt, especially her. But the truth always finds a way of coming out, and here it was, the big reveal; was he right? He looked at Emma with all hope beyond hope that she would say she loved mom too.

Emma finally found her way back to the vault. She looked at Henry, and then at Regina, and Henry again. She frowned. She approached Regina, who had turned away from her, to get her attention. She reached out to Regina, took her face in her hand, and looked straight into her eyes that were filled with tears and sadness. “You love me?” Emma whispered.

Regina couldn’t hold back tears, couldn’t help smiling at Emma. “Yes. I am in love with you, Emma Swan.” Emma’s eyes rapidly looked at her back and forth as she slowly began to smile. She stepped back releasing Regina and ran her fingers through her own hair. Emma opened her mouth, about to speak, but nothing came out. She did this several times, looking like a goldfish.

“Emma, you don’t have to…” Regina started. But Emma lifted her finger and stopped her. A sudden furry filled her eyes, and she looked intensely between Henry and Regina.

She grabbed their wrists suddenly and demanded “Come on!” and pulled them out of the vault.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

She rushed towards her car and barked at them, “Get in! Both of you, now!” Regina and Henry weakly asked each other, “Where are we going…” but they both got into the yellow bug as commanded. Emma started the car and peeled onto the main highway in the opposite direction of town.

Regina looked at Henry in the back seat and then to Emma. “Where are we going?”

“We’re leaving.”

“Ma, what do you mean, we’re leaving?”

“Leaving Henry. I’m taking my family away from this all, all of this craziness, out of Storybrooke.”

“Mom! She can’t be serious. Ma, you can’t do this… you’re the Savior, you can’t leave people behind.”

“Enough Henry, I am done. I’ve been playing a part to fit expectations and I am done. All I’ve ever wanted was to not be alone, have a family that loves me, and I love them and give them all that I never had. I clearly have that and I will protect you at all costs. I am still being a Savior to my family and I say we are leaving.”

“Mom! Ma can’t do this! What about grandma and grandpa? What about everyone else and their happy endings?” Henry pleaded with Regina, but she had her eyes fully fixed on Emma, saying not a word, seemingly undisturbed by the situation. Henry was right. She should be talking sense and reasoning into Emma, demand that she pull over and reconsider; accuse Emma of reverting back to her old ways of running when things got difficult. But Emma was running WITH her family, out of protection. Somehow Regina didn’t want to stop this flight; they have been fighting for so long. This selfish act spoke volumes to Regina; it told her Emma cared for her family, they are on the same page when it came to Henry, and Emma wants to do this not just for Henry, but for her too. She wants to protect her, Regina Mills. She had always wanted this Emma, how could she stop her now?

But clearly she and Henry were not seeing eye to eye, and he was frightened. “Emma, we can’t leave.”

“Yes, we can, Regina…”

“No, literally we cannot. The Evil Queen put up another barrier around Storybrooke that I have been unable to break, remember?”

Emma growled, but she didn’t slow down. She sped up. Henry yelled, “MA, STOP! We can’t speed through the barrier. You’re scaring me!”

“Henry, we are not driving through. Trust me. But we are still going to the border.”

Regina turned to Henry. “Let’s see what Emma has planned, ok? But Emma, please slow down. The border isn’t going anywhere.”

When they reached the town line, Emma abruptly stopped and jumped out of the car, storming towards the town line. Henry scrambled out of the car after her, “Ma, please don’t touch the barrier. Come on, let's go back.” Regina got out and stood with them at the line.

The orange line. The three of them stood staring at the orange line for what seemed to Henry like forever. Emma eventually broke the silence, “Regina, I think we can bring it down together. Why didn’t we think of this before? Our magic together is strong… it always has been. How could I have been so blind as to why? I’ve always felt the intensity of our magical connection… felt at home with you whenever we connected in that way.”

Regina’s smile grew wider and wider at her revelation. She always felt the same. “Together, I think we can break this barrier, Emma.”

“WAIT!” Henry stood between them. “I do believe the two of you can do it. You two can do anything, but this? We have to go back.”

Emma says to Henry as she takes his hand, “Kid, remember when we were in New York?. You sensed I was feeling lonely. I told you I was missing something. I had been having dreams that were pointing to someone, something that was missing. I couldn’t shake the feeling that our family was incomplete, though all we had was each other. You told me that you were feeling the same and you had been having dreams too. Deep down, we knew we were missing Mom. New York was a pretty good life. Now we can be a complete family there. Us. Our family is all that has ever mattered.”

“But grandma, grandpa, Neal, HELL! even Auntie Zelena and Robin are family, too.”

“Henry! Language…” Regina clips.

“No mom, why are you not backing me up? Why are you not talking sense into her? Tell her this is wrong! We cannot abandon them.”

“Henry,” Emma pleads, “We are immediate family first and that comes first. Snow and David have Neal. Yes, they love us, but I’ve been trying to recover a relationship that they think they should have with me. I walked into Mary Margaret's’ life as her friend, then I became the Savior. There has never been any time to get to know me in-between curses, jumping realms, or facing whatever the next evil is. They know nothing of who I was, or where I came from, or how I survived in this world. It’s hard for me to share all that with them without them feeling guilty. So we pretend nothing before that matters and I play along–daughter, princess, Savior. I love them, but that’s not a real family to me. You and Regina see me for me; I’m not just your Savior. You are the family I need to protect right now.”

“Henry,” Regina interjects, “I’m not sure I can disagree with Emma on this. I understand why you want to leave, Emma. Being Savior is taking its toll on you clearly. You’ve seen your death. Now there is an opportunity to have a happy ending of your own and give at least two others a happy ending, too. How much more obligated do you have to be when it can end in your death? If I can be certain that you are doing this because you want me and want to return my love, be a family with Henry until your dying day, then I will try and break this barrier with you and we will all leave together. I love my friends, my family, but Henry, you come first, and so does Emma. I think everyone will be fine if we leave.”

Henry’s jaw drops. “Mom, you can’t be serious. I have always wanted us to be a family, but not like this…”

Regina peers into Henry’s distraught face and instantly regrets what she said. Regina sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Damn it! I WANT to convince myself, but this is not a true act of love, Emma, we know that starting our lives this way will just end in regret and disaster. We cannot cheat destiny.”

“My, my, my… you’re such a pathetic do-gooder. Maybe you should change your name to Snow White the Second.”

All three follow the voice behind them and see the Evil Queen.

“Perhaps Emma and I could walk away together instead, your better half after all,” the Evil Queen flirtatiously says looking Emma up and down like she is something tasty to devour.

Emma peers into the Evil Queen's eyes. Those eyes, so familiar that usually fill her with warmth and affection, but these eyes carry a wildness and sense of chaos that she has not seen in Regina’s eyes since the first time they met. She charges at the Evil Queen, “This conversation doesn’t concern you! You need to go!” Emma says sternly.

“What’s wrong, my dear? Should it be so hard to make a choice? Love isn’t easy, but I’ll let you in on a little secret that could make that choice easier. It’s me who has always loved you more.” The Evil Queen advances towards Emma, reaching for her jacket lapel, but Emma backs away. Hearing the Evil Queen say she has loved her more sent Emma’s mind whirling and her nerves shaken. She doesn’t know what to make of hearing that. The Evil Queen is not Regina, but she is. Regina already told her she loves her and that the Evil Queen loves her too, so this news isn’t new, but, “I can’t… I really should be used to these unusual situations, but I just can’t.” Emma begins to back away from the Evil Queen. The Evil Queen sees the vulnerability and moves forward grasping for Emma, but Regina and Henry put themselves between them.

Regina stares pointedly at the Queen and says, “Just because I am trying to help Emma make the best choice doesn’t mean I love her less–on the contrary. We have always loved her as one, equally.”

“Then why did you split us? There is no we any longer when you did that.”

“I regret it very much. If I could unite us again, I would.”

“And risk having Emma and Henry love only half of you? That’s why you split us in the first place, trying to rid yourself of the undesirable, dark, flawed parts. The parts you thought that maybe Emma was holding back from? Get rid of the villain and maybe you’d get your true love, your happy ending? Tell US that isn’t true?” The Evil Queen turns to Regina, Henry, then Emma, “We wouldn’t be in this situation if you had only said you loved us completely as we were. Remember that day in Neal’s apartment when we spelled out how conflicted we were, being pulled between good and evil, not knowing how to live like this? Regina thought, oh, let’s be vulnerable, maybe we will get a reaction out of Emma that will give us hope to pursue our love. But all you seemed to care about was squashing me and you believed Regina could do it, you couldn’t let her stray. But then you supported our split and encouraged her to annihilate me. By all accounts, my love should have died and I should have annihilated you.” The Evil Queen’s sneer quickly turned into a smile. “Maybe mother was right, love is weakness and I am very weak for you. Emma, don’t you see how I must love you more; you wanted me destroyed, but I survived, and I still don’t want to kill you. Come with me, Emma.”

Henry yells, “She doesn’t love you!”

“Like you don’t love me? Go ahead, Henry, say it.”

But Henry is silent. Regina looks like she is at a loss for words. How do you argue against yourself? She turns to Emma looking full of confusion, defeat, and pain, “I’m sorry I caused this.”

“Don’t apologize to me, Regina. She is right.” Emma explains, “That day in Neal’s apartment, I realized what a shitty friend I had been. You were going through so much inner turmoil on top of Robin dying, and I was nowhere to be found. I consumed myself with Hook, feeling guilty he survived and Robin didn’t. As I listened to you, I realized how unfair it was that Hook was alive, but I pushed those feelings aside and was a coward to be there for you. I leaned into my relationship with Hook because my parents supported it. You were single and vulnerable, I wanted to do nothing more than to rescue you, tell you how maybe I could make the darkness go away by embracing you completely, loving you and accepting you. I should have told you that day I never was turned off by your dark side from the day I met you. But instead I kept silent, and then I let you split yourself because it seemed like the easiest way out for everyone. I let it happen because I refused to be your Savior.”

“You supported me the best you thought at the time. You’re just the Savior, not perfect,” Regina tells Emma.

Emma grimly laughs, despite the situation. She looks at the Evil Queen. “I can’t choose. To say I don’t love you, we know that is a lie. When I first met you Regina, the Evil Queen was there. And despite how you despised me and tried to run me out of town, I could never bring myself to hate you. I always encouraged you to be your best. I didn’t mean for you to think that meant getting rid of your darkness. I accepted you as you were. I fell in love with you completely. I won’t be leaving Storybrooke. I can’t leave any part of you behind.” She turns to Regina and falls into her arms. “I'm so sorry Regina. I need to be stronger for you,” she whispers into her ear.

“You don’t have to apologize to me. We have both been hiding from each other and not forthright. We made this mess together, but together we are stronger,” Regina tells her, embracing her.

The Evil Queen looked on at the two of them speechless and stunned. She just brought them together and lost the upper hand. Henry was pretty sure that they were not going to be leaving Storybrooke, and all thanks to the Evil Queen trying to interfere. She just convinced Emma that she was not pointless.

Regina finds herself in a state of tears but in the arms of her love. Emma finds it hard not to cry either, but does, releasing so much pent-up stress, relieved to be in the truth. Regina’s embrace is the most secure feeling she has ever experienced. How could she have run from this for so long? Regina begins to loosen her embrace on Emma, but she is not ready to let go. Regina says her name softly, so she relents. Regina doesn’t pull back very far. Regina looks into her wet green eyes and wipes tears from her cheeks. Never did she think she would see returned love in those eyes. Regina’s eyes drop to her lips and without a second thought, she kisses her.

As soon as Regina touched Emma’s lips, Henry and the Evil Queen witness a magical glow surround Regina and Emma, then a rainbow emanating from their embrace, and a swift breeze of true love’s kiss.

"I knew it!" exclaims Henry! "MOMS!" At Henry's cry, Regina and Emma parted lips and turned to him. "She's gone. She was just next to me watching you kiss and then she vanished like a ghost!" Regina and Emma both stare at him with surprise and confusion, a little bashful that he witnessed his moms’ first kiss. Suddenly, Regina’s hand flew to her chest, startling Emma and Henry. Henry reaches for Regina’s hand, “What’s wrong, mom?” Regina looks at the both of them, her eyes asking them to give her a second before she paused thoughtfully, then her eyebrows shoot up as she looks back at them. "She's back with me. I feel her,” and her eyes dart to Emma, looking worried.

"I broke your curse!” Emma says with a broad smile. “Don't look at me worried, Regina. I told you. I love you completely."

Henry gives his moms a moment and goes to the line, sticking his foot over it. "Hey! The barrier is gone! But we still aren't leaving, right?!?"

Emma gives a deep sigh while looking at the orange line on the ground. She puts an arm around Henry, "It would be wonderful to be able to go back to the beginning and pretend that when you brought me here, and I met your mom, we all got along and became an instant family, end of story. But, I was brought to Storybrooke for other things. I still have you and your mom. I am thankful for you two because you make this adventure worth-while. Every story where the hero tries to run, they are always brought back to complete their mission OR they lose more than they should have if they just stayed, so I suppose I should just keep my ass here," Emma laughs. “What do you think?”

Henry asks her, "You may understand, but you really don't want to stay. How is this going to affect your power as the Savior if you don't believe in yourself?"

"When you see yourself die… I have been in so many near-death situations, but I never foresaw it. That’s a game changer; something inside changes, kid. I have a different look on the situation, and I can’t let fear overcome me, you’re right, Henry. But I think I believe in myself more now through love,” Emma says as she looks at Regina.

"We all have roles we need to redefine,” Regina adds. "I have a hard enough time accepting that others think of me as ‘hero’ and now I have the Evil Queen back, she’s bound to try and bring me down. I need to focus on the love I have from you two as my strength to believe in myself.”

“I think I understand that pressure. I ask myself often what does it mean to be the author? I'm not mad at you, Ma. I just want to be your voice of reason."

"And thank you for being that and believing in me. So the voice of reason says I am to keep my butt in Storybrooke?" Emma grins wryly at Henry as he turned to her and pulls her in and holds her, "YES! I'm not letting you go!" They laugh in their embrace, while nearly falling down.

Regina's eyes tear up at this moment as she witnesses what is the beginning of a whole new them as a family. She can still feel the vibrations from the true love's kiss. She knows it has changed them all for the better and has made them stronger together to face anything as the Savior, the hero, and the author.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my head-cheerleader, my wife, to whom I shared this story with, my first story, and she gave me all the encouragement and courage I needed to keep going; and to my beta and cheerleader, writer, Aponi_Aquene.


End file.
